Harlow paper firm Ovenden Papers was sold to Antalis for £225,000 out of administration, and all 47 staff moved across. Unsecured creditors get nothing.

Ovenden Papers, the River Way paper wholesaler founded in 1943, was sold the same day it went into administration. The buyer is Antalis Limited. All 47 staff transferred to the new owner.

The details are in the administrators’ proposals, filed at Companies House on 7 October. Alvarez and Marsal were appointed joint administrators on 18 September. We reported the appointment when the Gazette notice appeared.

What the buyer paid

This was a pre-packaged sale, agreed before the administrators were appointed and completed straight after. Antalis paid £225,000 for “certain of the Company’s business and assets”. The administrators’ report breaks that down:

Asset Price
Stock £132,998
Motor vehicles £50,000
Intellectual property and licences £24,997
Plant and machinery £15,000
Fixtures and fittings £2,000
Goodwill, customer contracts and three other items £1 each

The company’s sales ledger, worth about £6.8 million, was not part of the sale. Antalis is helping the company’s lender, Praetura, collect it.

The 47 employees moved to Antalis under the TUPE rules. Those rules protect staff terms when a business changes hands. At the time of the sale, the company worked from two leased sites, one in Harlow and one in Ipswich. The report does not say how many of the 47 worked in Harlow, or what Antalis plans for the River Way site.

Companies House lists Antalis Limited at Coalville in Leicestershire. The company was formerly called Antalis McNaughton Limited. The administrators describe it as an “unconnected trade party”.

Why it failed

The administrators say the company faced “reduced demand for paper products”. A “material uninsured bad debt” in 2025 made the cash position worse.

Sales fell from £37.9 million in the year to March 2025 to £24.4 million the next year. The company lost £1.47 million and then £1.78 million after tax in those two years. It lost another £703,000 in the four months to July 2026.

Alvarez and Marsal ran a sale process from August. They approached 63 possible buyers and 14 signed confidentiality agreements. Only one offer came in, from Antalis, and it was for a sale through insolvency.

Who gets paid

The report says:

  • Praetura, the secured lender, was owed £3,906,294 and is expected to recover its lending in full
  • employees’ preferential claims, such as wage arrears and holiday pay, are expected to receive a dividend
  • unsecured creditors, such as suppliers, are expected to receive nothing

The administrators expect the company to be dissolved once the administration ends.

What it means for you

If you work at Ovenden Papers, your employment should have moved to Antalis on the same terms. If Ovenden Papers owes you money, you can still send details of your claim to the administrators at Alvarez and Marsal Europe LLP, Suite 3, Avery House, 69 North Street, Brighton, BN41 1DH. Their report says unsecured creditors are not expected to be paid.

The administrators are also investigating whether there are claims against third parties that could bring in more money. They ask anyone with relevant information to write to them at the same address.

Sources